Here is a look at what causes a garage door to come off its track.

Reason #1: Car Hitting the Door

Garage doors are big and tough. It takes a lot to get them off their hinges. So it makes sense that, in most cases, a car has hit the door. And it’s easier to do than you might think.

Have you ever been later for an appointment and in a hurry? You can pull out of the garage, or perhaps enter it, going too fast. If the door isn’t totally up, a crash is inevitable. Or you can forget to click the remote to open the door.

Reason #2: Improper Alignment or Weak Tracks

If the horizontal tracks on the garage door system aren’t sturdy enough, they can bend under the weight of the door. This happens when they are poorly made, using weak steel.

If the tracks are improperly aligned, they can also bend. Bolts in the brackets get loose, causing wobbling and finally breaking.

Reason #3: Worn Out Rollers

The rollers for your garage door can wear out and break, causing structural stress. Some fittings don’t have enough or the right type of ball bearings.

Reason #4: Broken Lift Cable

Older doors have parts that are worn out, especially around the lift cables. Old parts can cause of series of problems with various pieces of the door system. The end result is a garage door off its tracks.

The Importance of Garage Door Inspections

A garage door off its tracks is expensive to repair. It makes sense to get regular inspections of the components and system as a whole. Expert technicians can spot problems early, preventing damage and even injury.

Contact Bailey Garage Doors for all of your garage door needs!

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Extra Ceiling Space

Make your garage more of a fully three-dimensional storage space by installing ledges on the ceiling that can hold storage boxes. The ledges look like I-beams, and can hold more room than you would’ve thought possible; this really declutters a house when done correctly.

Erect a Do It Yourself Work Bench on the Wall

This can be embedded right in the wall, so that you never need search for your tools again, more or less. This idea of making use of the preexisting wall can be extended to a place for all of your garden tools, as well. You’ve got at least three walls to work with, after all. Turn one entire wall into a storage space by nailing ledges to it.

Turn It Into an Extra Work Room

If you don’t need to park your vehicles in the garage, then it’s large enough to convert into an ample-sized office. Put in carpeting and build desks and cabinets into the wall. Just in case you already have an adequate office in the main house, then your garage can make a very nice home gym.

Change the Lights

Most garages have fluorescent lighting; but if you are upgrading it into an office or work room, then you should replace these with LEDs. they last a lot longer and are more efficient; plus, the right colors simulate natural light much better.

These are some of the top upgrades you’ll find in most garages; there are others, but they depend on specific uses you might have for in your particular case.

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Garage doors are opened daily, and, unlike the rest of our home, when the garage door is opened anyone with a view from the street is aware of the things we keep in the garage. People often forget to close the garage door when they leave, or maybe they have a forgetful teenager to blame, either way, keeping that door closed is paramount to prevent any crimes of opportunity from taking place. Your garage door technician can install a timer that will close your garage door for you after a predetermined amount of time. This will not forgo the safety mechanism put in place on the garage door like the garage door safety sensors, which prevent any accidental closure on people or objects (assuming that the safety sensors are working correctly). The timer has an override option if you wish for the door to remain open while you work, clean, etc.

When you are going on vacation, you should unplug your garage door opener. And, with the opener unplugged, you can put a padlock on the latch or run a metal bolt through a hole in the track to ensure that the door will not be opened from the outside.

Another thing that many people forget about is the garage door opener on the visor of their vehicle. That opener is hidden behind just a pane of glass. Remember to take the opener in the house with you, especially removing it from the vehicle if you are on vacation and the vehicle is going to be parked outside of the home.

The post Garage Door Safety appeared first on Bailey Garage Doors.

First, consider the children in your home.  Don’t allow the children to play with the functions on a garage door.  Remember that the safety mechanisms built into a garage door, like its safety sensors—which prevent the door from closing on a person—can be disabled if the opener is held down.

Keep the garage door opener button out of a child’s reach at all times, and don’t allow children to play unsupervised around the garage door.  Explain the inherent dangers to your children.

Remember, a child will be more likely to experiment with something that they don’t understand, even if you’ve told them to stay away from it.  Hopefully a thorough explanation of the dangers of playing with a garage door will fizzle out any curiosities they once had.

Your garage door most likely has safety equipment built into it, and you should test some of this equipment periodically to ensure that it’s working properly.  One of the easiest tests is to place a two by four in the path of the light on the safety sensors, and try and close the garage door.  If the garage door continues in a downward track even with the obstacle, the safety sensors are not working properly.  Also, visually inspect the garage door monthly, looking for any obvious signs of damage or wear to the garage door or to its hardware and accessories.

Also, remember that a garage door is a route into your home.  It’s so common for someone to leave a garage door opener on the visor of their vehicle, which they’ve left in the driveway, and to go on vacation.

That garage door opener is a key into your home.  Leaving it on the visor of your car is akin to leaving the keys to your house in the lock of the door handle.  Also, while you are away on vacation, consider disengaging the garage door opener, and adding a vacation lock to the garage door, so it’s unable to move freely in its track.

Contact Bailey Doors for all of your garage door needs.

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What’s stored in the garage?

Mice can build little nests in the most cramped of spaces. Going into your garage you should look at what’s being store there.  Are there old pieces of furniture? Do you store boxes or other loose trash there? Is there a woodpile stocked in the garage? All of these places make for excellent mouse habitat. First, clean out the garage, specifically what’s on the floor. While mice can take up residence about anywhere, place like a cardboard box stuffed with tissue or even the pile of dead grass and leaves beneath the lawnmower are nothing more than future rodent residencies. Also, wood stacked in the garage is convenient for those cold days, but it’s also providing a comfortable nook for mice to sleep.

Clean the Garage

Mice are drawn to the smells of most things, especially food, trash, or dog food. Keep the garage clean of bags of trash. Also, if you store food in the garage, make sure everything is well-sealed. Loose food should be stored in cans or containers with a tight fitting lid. Dog foods should be also kept in a sealed container. Remember, Mice really, really love dog food—don’t give them a reason to come in for a meal.

If your garage is a mess and you’ve decided to clean it up, take precautions. You may already have mice, and mice can carry certain diseases like hantavirus, which can be transmitted to humans by breathing in the dust exposed to it.  It’s nothing to overly worry about, because diseases like these are very rare. However, when you’re cleaning, take simple precautions such as a breathing mask and keep the garage well-ventilated.

Contact Bailey Doors for all of your garage door needs.

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